Oregon Food Bank

Vision: We envision communities across Oregon and southwest Washington where citizens are empowered and actively engaged to attain personal and community food security.

To work towards this vision we use 3 primary approaches:

1. Community Organizing Using FEAST

Image by Guthrie Shaw

OFB’s FEAST (Food, Education, Agriculture Solutions Together) program provides a menu of community organizing methods to help communities mobilize around improving their food system. As the program grows, our focus is increasingly on developing and supporting a network of food systems advocates and organizers actively engaged in improving their own communities around Oregon and beyond.

83 events, 2250+ citizens engaged.

More than 30% of participants are food producers.

Model being replicated in 13 states.

2. RARE Community Food Assessment Partnership

Since 2008, OFB has partnered with the RARE (Resource Assistance for Rural Environments) Americorps program administered through the University of Oregon’s Community Service Center to place participants in rural communities around the state. RARE members placed in collaboration with OFB have focused on completion of local food assessments and planning.

Image by OFB

19 assessments completed through 2015 covering 27 Oregon counties.

8 local food guides.

80+ rural grocery stores surveys.

More than 1,000 community members engaged.

3. Food Systems Networking

OFB plays a key role in the local and national Community Food Security movement as both a convener of partners , and as an innovator of new approaches to community food systems work.